Here is who national experts are predicting will win KC Chiefs’ game at Denver Broncos

There haven’t been many lighthearted moments this season for the Broncos, who have a 3-9 record and are in last place in the AFC West division.

But the writers who cover the Broncos for the Denver Post had a bit of fun for a story headlined: “What will it take for Denver to have a chance at upsetting Kansas City?”

The Chiefs, 9-3, will be in Denver for Sunday’s game, and the Broncos would have a chance, writes columnist Sean Keeler, if field goals are “worth eight points instead of three. But only for the home team.”

Also: “The Broncos being spotted a 10-0 lead at kickoff” and “The Broncos being spotted seven more points to start the third quarter.”

All jokes aside, the Chiefs are favored to beat the Broncos by pundints from around the country.

Here is what 55 national experts are saying about the game, which kicks off at 3:05 p.m. and will air on KCTV (Ch. 5).

A 34-14 Chiefs victory is the prediction from Bill Bender of the Sporting News. Here is a passage from his story: “This was supposed to be a huge AFC West showdown in the preseason. Instead, this is a bounce-back for the Chiefs – who need it to stay in that hunt for home-field advantage.”

A 29-17 Chiefs win is the prediction from NFL.com’s Gregg Rosenthal. This is part of what he wrote: “Hell hath no fury like Patrick Mahomes, coming off a loss, playing against a franchise he’s historically owned. This Denver defense is stout, but the pass rush has declined thanks to injuries and the Bradley Chubb trade.”

The Chiefs were the pick for the writers at Pro Football Talk. Michael David Smith predicted a 31-13 score. He wrote: “The Broncos’ offense is awful. The Chiefs’ offense is great. Hard to see this game being close.” Mike Florio sees a 27-13 final. He wrote: “When Russell Wilson was traded to the Broncos, we were smitten with the promise of two annual battles with Patrick Mahomes. Now? Not.”

A 24-5 Chiefs win is the prediction from Yardbarker’s Chris Mueller. Here is an excerpt from his story: “(I)f anyone is overreacting to the loss and suggesting that the Chiefs have some sort of fatal flaw, that’s their problem. This is still a frightening offensive team, one that will probably be playing late into January. Oh, the Broncos held another team to a ridiculously low point total, only to lose again. Gee, haven’t seen that movie at all this year. Denver got beat by a late Tyler Huntley touchdown drive, then looked poised to actually get the ball down the field for a winning field goal, but ran out of time before getting into realistic range. Of course, none of this matters in the long run. The Broncos are coming apart at the seams with each passing week, and about the only interesting thing about them is trying to predict what lowlight is coming next.”

Each of the eight writers at CBS Sports see the Chiefs winning: Jason LaCanfora, Pete Prisco, Jared Dubin, Will Brinson, John Breech, Dave Richard, Ryan Wilson and Jamey Eisenberg. Prisco predicted a 27-13 score. He wrote in part: “The Chiefs are coming off a tough loss to the Bengals and they are playing a second straight road game. Big deal. The Denver offense is terrible. The Denver defense is good, but it won’t slow Patrick Mahomes.”

A 23-13 Chiefs victory is the prediction from FanSided’s Matt Verderame. He wrote: “The Broncos would love nothing more than to beat the Chiefs and break their 13-game losing streak to Kansas City. The problem? Denver needs to score points.”

All 10 Athletic writers picked a Chiefs win: Zack Berman, Michael-Shawn Dugar, Larry Holder, Mark Kaboly, Josh Kendall, Nick Kosminder, Austin Mock, Jay Morrison, Tashan Reed and Ben Standig. The Athletic writers wrote: “The Chiefs suffered a tough loss to the Bengals on Sunday and now find themselves not controlling their own destiny to get the only bye in the AFC Playoffs. The good news for Kansas City is the season finishes with an easy schedule that features only one team currently in the NFL Playoff Picture, and that’s the Seattle Seahawks.”

Picking the Chiefs are the six USA Today writers: Jarrett Bell (30-16 final score), Chris Bumbaca (21-12), Nate Davis (23-16), Safid Deen (34-17), Tyler Dragon (27-16) and Lorenzo Reyes (29-13).

All three of the writers at Pro Football Network took the Chiefs: Adam Beasley (24-19 final score), Dallas Robinson (30-13) and Dalton Miller (24-10). Here is part of what Miller wrote: “Russell Wilson and the Broncos haven’t been the worst offense in the NFL at moving the ball, but they are the worst at scoring points. Despite ranking fourth in turnovers per drive, the Broncos rank dead last in points per drive and points per game. They struggle to run the football, and the Wilson trade and subsequent contract extension have been an abject failure to date.”

The 10 members of the Dallas Morning-News picked the Chiefs to win: Tim Cowlishaw, Michael Gehlken, Craig Miller, Newy Scruggs, Jean-Jacques Taylor, Calvin Watkins, Dana Larson, Damon Marx, David Moore and Kevin Sherrington.

All seven pundits at ESPN see the Chiefs prevailing: Stephania Bell, Matt Bowen, Mike Clay, Domonique Foxworth, Dan Graziano, Laura Rutledge and Seth Wickersham.

All five Sports Illustrated writers went with the Chiefs: Conor Orr, Gary Grammling, John Pluym, Albert Breer and Mitch Goldich.